Addicted son leaves at wit's end

By Ida Indawati Khouw

JAKARTA (JP): Household helper Nuriah and her husband Liman never dreamed that their eldest son would be a burden for the poor family.

Nuriah and Liman, a taxi driver, live together with their five children in a slum area in Menteng, Central Jakarta. They had hoped that first son Iwan, 22, would be able to help earn money for his poor family, as his parents cannot afford to even pay school fees for their kids.

However, instead of giving support for his family, Iwan has posed a new problem for his elderly parents.

For two years now, he has been addicted to drugs, along with his friends in the neighborhood.

His new "status" has been costing his poor family too much.

Speaking with The Jakarta Post last Friday, Liman recalled that Iwan had spent -- without the knowledge of his family -- a great amount of his parents' money to buy shabu-shabu (crystal metamphetamine), a drug now very popular among young people and nightclubbers in the capital.

"We could no longer afford to finance his schooling. He stopped his studies when he was still at junior high school," Liman said.

He has been mostly unemployed since then, and was introduced to the world of drugs by his friends in the crowded neighborhood in 1997, his father said.

Only after several months could Liman detect that his son had been using drugs. He saw that Iwan trembled and had become progressively thinner.

According to Iwan, he was introduced to shabu-shabu by his friends, who at first let him try the drug for no charge.

"At that time, my friend had asked me to help him inject the drug, and then he offered me a taste," he explained.

"I couldn't figure out the feeling after being injected by the drug. I just enjoyed it," said Iwan, who accompanied his father during the interview.

He said shabu-shabu was his favorite drug because it was relatively cheap.

Many drug addicts say they were at first offered drugs free of charge, but then would have to pay for it when they became dependent and needed it every day.

Iwan said that after the first free try he could not stop taking shabu-shabu, and would do anything to raise the Rp 25,000 to Rp 30,000 for the drug.

In the beginning, he used the money he earned as a tattooist, for which he was paid between Rp 5,000 and Rp 10,000 per job.

He said that if he did not have enough work, he would steal his sisters' clothes and sell them to the flea market to satisfy his addiction.

His sister, Malini, said her pants or T-shirts went missing from the clothes line.

But Iwan said he never committed crimes to get money for the drug.

He said he injected the drug anywhere, as long as it was safe.

According to Iwan and his parents, drug users in the neighborhood, who are mostly teenagers, have no fear at all. They consume the drugs in any open space in the residential area.

"Once I found him (Iwan) and one of his friends injecting the drug in the narrow alley here," Nuriah said, pointing to alley in front of the house. "I scolded him and said that it would be better for him to kill me next time if he still took the drug."

Liman said he once found two youths injecting drugs in a public toilet in the area.

"Almost all members of our neighborhood here acknowledge the problem, but we remain silent because those involved are also our family members," he said.

Nuriah said many of their neighbors experienced the same problem.

"Mothers complain about their sons who steal their money," she said.

Liman and Nuriah said the police should carry out a massive raid in the area and arrest the dealers.

Iwan refused to name the dealers, but said drugs could easily be bought at Gang (alley) Edi off Jl. Halimun in Central Jakarta.

"There are scores of drug dealers there," said Iwan, showing the marks the syringes had left on his forearm.

He said he was now trying hard to stop taking shabu-shabu.

"My parents have threatened not to finance my wedding ceremony if I still use the drug," Iwan said.

He said he stopped his habit more than a month ago.

"I restrain myself with all my power and even my body sometimes trembles."

His father said he would let Iwan marry a 16-year-old he met about a month ago. The wedding is planned for next week.

"I hope he will really stop his bad habit," Liman said.

Nuriah said she was willing to sacrifice all her savings of Rp 500,000 for Iwan's wedding day.

"It's better to lose the money but see my son free from the drug for the rest of his life," the old woman said.